Had the Young Master Ever Killed Anyone? A Youth Wished to Climb Sacred Mountain and Ask the Sacred Teacher

The spring rain had ceased, not a single drop falling anymore. The evening clouds, which the wind had just scattered somewhat, rolled back in, veiling the sunset that had only just spilled across the world.

Even the wind in the air carried a biting chill.

Liu Qingyan was dead?

When An Le heard the news, he was stunned for a moment, his brows knitting slightly.

"Liu Qingyan was beheaded with a single sword strike. He had no chance to resist. His corpse lay across the long street, and his blood dyed the blue stone red."

Captain Huang Xian sighed.

He exchanged a glance with An Le. In truth, both of them could guess who had killed Liu Qingyan.

An Le nodded to show that he understood. Liu Qingyan's death was no great matter. Had he not died, An Le might have sought him out to demand justice.

"Besides Liu Qingyan, the three gang enforcers he raised who attacked you are dead as well."

Huang Xian said, "The Yamen constables escorted them away and executed them on the spot at the market entrance."

An Le pressed his lips together, feeling somewhat dazed as a faint chill ran through his body.

It was not that he sympathized with Liu Qingyan and the three dead enforcers. Rather, a sorrow over the fragility of life welled up from the depths of his heart.

So death... could be so simple, so lightly brushed aside.

Luo Qingchen, a cultivator, perhaps held life in even less regard than An Le had imagined.

Or perhaps this was simply how the world was. Cultivators stood high above, looking down upon the weak and ordinary people. To them, the lives of the weak and ordinary people were like wild grass by the roadside, to be snapped off at will.

An Le was naturally one of the weak now. Without Lin Manor's protection, he might have died as helplessly as Liu Qingyan and the three enforcers.

Letting out a breath, An Le's desire to grow stronger only intensified.

At the very least, he needed to become strong enough that Luo Qingchen—and Qin Manor behind him—could no longer crush him as casually as an ant. Only then could he rest easy.

Captain Huang clearly saw through An Le's state of mind and invited him to a restaurant, though naturally not some extravagant place like Drunken Dragon Pavilion.

They ordered several dishes and a warmed pot of yellow wine, then began to eat and drink.

After taking a sip of warm yellow wine and a bite of sliced pig head meat, Huang Xian looked at An Le and smiled. "Young Master An... you have never killed anyone, have you?"

An Le took a small sip of yellow wine. The brew was rather rough, but it went down smoothly enough, with a certain flavor lingering within.

"I haven't. I studied from childhood and came to Lin'an after passing the provincial examination. On the way, bandits tried to rob me. My guards fled, and I was unarmed. I wanted to kill the bandits, but had no strength to do so. Instead, I got beaten up." An Le laughed at himself. "That was probably the closest I ever came to killing someone. Even when I was attacked before, I never thought of killing."

Captain Huang clinked cups with An Le and nodded. "That is normal. Young Master, you are kind-hearted. Unless forced to the brink, you naturally would not think of killing. But now that you are a cultivator and have made enemies of Qin Manor, perhaps you should change your way of thinking."

"A kind person will be bullied."

"Cultivation has always been inseparable from killing and conquest."

Huang Xian was both advising and warning him.

An Le fell into thought. Even if he would not do unto others what he would not have done unto himself, this era was what it was. If he did not kill others, others would kill him. When he swung his sword, he would hesitate, while others would only wish for their blades to fall faster and faster.

Captain Huang had quite a favorable impression of An Le. He was refined and courteous, handsome too, and he had exposed Qin Manor's scheme to place a painter within Lin Manor.

This reminder came from genuine concern.

"Young Master An... your offense against Qin Manor is, in fact, somewhat related to me, Old Huang. Had I not invited you to Lin Manor, you would not have offended Qin Manor. Here, I offer you a cup in apology."

Huang Xian took a fierce gulp of wine, wiped his mouth, and then stared at An Le solemnly. "Lin Manor can still protect you now, Young Master An. But once the Palace Examination ends, Lin Manor will surely be swept into the turmoil. By then, it may be unable to protect itself, much less protect you."

"Therefore, if you seek safety for yourself, there is actually... another path."

After considering it, Huang Xian spoke.

Hearing this, An Le raised his cup in acknowledgment and drained it in one swallow. "Please enlighten me, Captain Huang."

"Enlighten is too lofty a word. This is not much of a secret, really. You asked Madam Hua about cultivation, so you should know that Great Zhao has three major cultivation powers, yes?"

Captain Huang waved his hand with a smile.

"The Literature Academy for spirit refinement, the Martial Temple for body tempering, and the transcendent Sacred Mountain," An Le replied.

"Fortune has ever waxed and waned, cycling long to reveal heaven's design; when Sacred Mountain's clouds disperse without a speck of dust, its generals rise in radiance into the Purple Star Enclosure."

Huang Xian recited, "This was written by a friend of Legendary Scholar Li You'an, describing the sight of Sacred Mountain."

"Those who enter Sacred Mountain may rise in radiance through the immortal gate with ease."

"If Young Master An wishes to protect himself, you may choose to enter one of the three great powers—the Literature Academy, the Martial Temple, or Sacred Mountain."

"However, Qin Manor's influence runs through both the Literature Academy and Martial Temple. Young Master An may not lose your life there, but you would still suffer hardship. Only by entering Sacred Mountain—even merely as a Mountain Guardian—can you make all sides wary." Huang Xian's eyes held both respect and yearning.

Hearing this, An Le drank a mouthful of wine. "Captain Huang makes it sound easy. Forget the past; just looking at the present, how many people in the Great Zhao Dynasty can enter Sacred Mountain?"

Madam Hua had told An Le how difficult it was to enter Sacred Mountain—as difficult as ascending to the blue heavens.

Captain Huang looked at An Le and smiled. "To enter Sacred Mountain, gain the Sacred Teacher's recognition, and establish oneself as a Mountain Lord—that is naturally difficult. Without peerless talent, one cannot establish oneself as a Mountain Lord. But... if you seek to become a Mountain Guardian, the difficulty is much lower."

"Every year, several cultivators from the Great Zhao Dynasty enter Sacred Mountain as Mountain Guardians for its Mountain Lords. Though Mountain Guardians are judged by talent as well, what matters more is whether they catch a Mountain Lord's eye. Young Master An, you are handsome and quite eye-catching. Though you began late, you possess some talent. If you seek peace, you can go to the foot of Sacred Mountain and contend for the qualification of Mountain Guardian."

Huang Xian laughed.

An Le froze. Captain Huang's meaning was... that he should use his looks to conquer a Sacred Mountain Lord?

Why did that feel so unreliable...

An Le shook his head, uninterested. Entering Sacred Mountain through his looks felt far too strange.

An Le still felt that earning his living through his abilities was more dependable.

He even wanted to give it his all and see whether he could enter Sacred Mountain to ask the Sacred Teacher.

"Let us speak of it later. Captain Huang, did you not ask me to draw a portrait of a criminal? Describe the criminal's features to me. I will return and make the painting, then deliver it to you tomorrow."

Huang Xian did not continue the subject and described the criminal's appearance to An Le.

"This criminal is a notorious river-and-lake bandit named Hu Jingang. Though he is a martial wanderer, he has some grasp of cultivation. His qi and blood have been opened to completion, and he is exceedingly vicious. At a village outside Lin'an Prefecture, he slaughtered several dozen households clean."

Setting down his wine cup, Huang Xian said gravely, "His appearance is unremarkable, and once he hides within Lin'an Prefecture, he is very difficult to track down. With a portrait, we can post notices and let the common people report and warn us, so that we may capture him and bring him to justice sooner."

After An Le recorded the details with his brush, the criminal's image had gradually taken shape in his mind.

"Oh, right. There is another matter I would like to trouble Captain Huang with. Do you know anyone at the Estate Agency? I am staying at that cramped inn, and it is truly inconvenient for martial practice. I would like to find a residence with a courtyard."

An Le asked.

Hearing this, Huang Xian found nothing unusual about it. An Le was now painting for Lin Manor, so he surely earned no small amount of silver. Buying a separate courtyard residence was only natural.

"Yes. One of my Black Office brothers died in the line of duty. His wife and daughter wish to leave Lin'an and return to her family home, so they are preparing to sell their courtyard residence. The price is somewhat high, but if Young Master An is interested, we can go look at it right now."

Huang Xian hurriedly said. If he could sell the courtyard, it would count as helping his fallen brother.

"Not today. Tomorrow will do. Once I have packed my belongings tomorrow, I can move in directly."

An Le smiled. He did not ask how much it would cost. With his current wealth, buying a small courtyard was not much of a problem.

"Good, good. Young Master An, Huang thanks you in advance."

Captain Huang solemnly poured himself a cup of yellow wine that had already gone cold, raised it respectfully, and drained it in one gulp.

An Le smiled and returned the toast with a cup of wine.

An Le returned to the inn and had the waiter prepare hot water. After taking a hot bath, he sat cross-legged in his room.

He took out the "Sword Waterfall Diagram" and closed his eyes to visualize it.

As a top-tier Spirit Refinement Method, An Le had previously Entered Stillness through contemplating the sword diagram, but in truth, the first diagram could still be contemplated and comprehended for some time.

Madam Hua had explained the differences between realms to him, but had not explained the detailed divisions within each realm. More finely divided, they were the early, middle, late, and completion stages.

An Le was currently at the early stage of Opening Qi and Blood, and the early stage of Entering Stillness.

Yet in truth, the divisions between minor realms had a great impact. Cultivation methods, offensive techniques, and the like all varied accordingly. Crossing minor realms in battle was nothing unusual.

Sitting upright in the wooden chair, his breathing was calm and faint as he Entered Stillness.

An Le visualized the first sword diagram.

Deep within his mind, Spiritual power wound about like threads of silk, vaguely taking the shape of a sharp sword stretching across the sky.

The talent bestowed by the Talent of the Ages Dao Fruit was truly extraordinary.

An Le only felt that the speed at which the threadlike Spiritual power wound together was far faster than when he had previously Entered Stillness.

Combined with the Sword Dancer Dao Fruit's enhancement of sword-related pursuits, An Le felt as though he were seated upon the clouds.

His Spiritual power steadily grew stronger in meditation.

After meditating for nearly two hours, An Le opened his eyes. In the darkness, a faint glimmer seemed to burst forth, like a star in the heavens casting its starlight down upon the human world!

When the depths of his mind began to ache faintly from visualization, An Le stopped. Cultivation required a proper balance between tension and relaxation; excess was as bad as deficiency.

Within the Niwan Palace, a hazy embryo of a small sword formed from converging Spiritual power had taken shape.

An Le estimated that, by realm, he had entered the middle stage of Entering Stillness.

Having completed his spirit refinement, An Le emerged from his state of Entering Stillness.

His strengthened spirit gave him finer control over his body. He loosened his muscles and bones, and qi and blood coursed through his meridians, driven by force.

An Le exhaled a breath of turbid air and began practicing the Thirteen Tiger Forms of the "Five Animal Body-Tempering Art" in his room.

The tiger stirred the wind; its movements thundered like lightning!

Though his opponents in the battle at Quiet Street Entrance had merely been ordinary river-and-lake enforcers, facing enemies himself had deepened An Le's comprehension of the tiger stance.

"The 'Sword Waterfall Diagram' receives the Sword Dancer Dao Fruit's support, benefiting my cultivation. But the 'Five Animal Body-Tempering Art' has no Dao Fruit support. Since that is the case, I will enhance it with Time Qi."

With that thought, An Le applied all three remaining strands of Time Qi to the "Five Animal Body-Tempering Art."

The grey Time Qi burned, and images flashed past before his eyes like a white colt passing through a crack.

However, when the final strand of grey Time Qi ignited, An Le's eyes lit up, and he began to observe intently.

Because the figure within this strand of Time Qi... was performing the "Five Animal Body-Tempering Art"!